Difference between revisions of "Margaret Atwood" - New World Encyclopedia
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− | {{Infobox Writer | + | {{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] —> |
− | | name = Margaret Atwood | + | |name = Margaret Atwood |
− | | image = | + | |image = Margaret Atwood at demonstration.jpg |
− | | imagesize = 220px | + | |imagesize = 220px |
− | + | |caption = Margaret Atwood at a demonstration in 1988 | |
− | | caption = | + | |birthdate = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1939|11|18}} |
− | | | + | |birthplace = [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] |
− | + | |occupation = [[Novelist]], [[Poet]] | |
− | | | + | |nationality = [[Canadian]] |
− | | occupation = [[Novelist]], [[Poet]] | + | |period = 1960s to present |
− | | nationality = [[ | + | |genre = [[Romance novel|Romance]], [[Historical fiction]], [[Speculative fiction]], [[Dystopian fiction]] |
− | + | |notableworks = ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]],'' ''[[Cat's Eye (novel)|Cat's Eye]]'', ''[[Alias Grace]],'' ''[[The Blind Assassin]]'', ''[[Oryx and Crake]]'', ''[[Surfacing]]'' | |
− | | period = | + | |influences = |
− | | genre = [[Romance novel|Romance]], [[Historical fiction]], [[Speculative fiction]], [[Dystopian fiction]] | + | |influenced = |
− | | | + | |website = http://www.owtoad.com |
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− | | influences = | ||
− | | influenced = | ||
− | | website | ||
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}} | }} | ||
− | '''Margaret Eleanor Atwood''', [[Order of Canada| | + | '''Margaret Eleanor Atwood''', [[Order of Canada|CC]] (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian [[writer]]. A prolific [[poet]], [[novel]]ist, [[literary criticism|literary critic]], [[feminism|feminist]] and [[activism|activist]], she is a winner of the [[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] and [[Prince of Asturias Awards|Prince of Asturias]] award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the [[Booker Prize]] five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the [[Governor General's Award]] seven times, winning twice. Atwood is among the most-honored authors of fiction in recent history.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.awardannals.com/wiki/Honor_roll:Fiction_authors | title=Honor roll:Fiction authors | date=2007-11-17 | work=Award Annals }}</ref> While she is best known for her work as a novelist, her [[poetry]] is noteworthy.<ref name="Holcombe">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Holcombe | first = Garan | title = Margaret Atwood | encyclopedia = Contemporary Writers | volume = | pages = | publisher = British Arts Council | location = London | date = 2005 | url = http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03C18N390512635243 | accessdate = 2008-10-22 }}</ref> Many of her poems have been inspired by [[myths]], and [[fairy tales]], which were an interest of hers from an early age.{{Fact|date=November 2008}} Atwood has also published short stories in ''[[Tamarack Review]], Alphabet, [[Harper's Magazine|Harper's]], [[CBC Literary Awards|CBC Anthology]], [[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]], [[Saturday Night (magazine)|Saturday Night]], [[Playboy]]'', and many other magazines. |
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
− | Born in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Atwood | + | Born in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Atwood is the second of three children of Carl Edmund Atwood, an [[entomologist]], and Margaret Dorothy Killiam, a former dietitian and nutritionist.<ref name=lumin>http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/atwood/atwood.htm</ref> Due to her father’s ongoing research in forest [[entomology]], Atwood spent much of her childhood in the backwoods of Northern [[Quebec]] and back and forth between Ottawa, [[Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario|Sault Ste. Marie]] and [[Toronto]]. She did not attend school full-time until she was 11 years old. She became a voracious reader of literature, [[Dell Publishing|Dell]] pocketbook mysteries, [[Grimm's Fairy Tales]], Canadian animal stories, and [[comic book]]s. She attended Leaside High School in [[Leaside]], Toronto and graduated in 1957.<ref name=lumin/> |
− | Atwood began writing at age | + | Atwood began writing at age six and realized she wanted to write professionally when she was 16. In 1957, she began studying at [[Victoria University in the University of Toronto]]. Her professors included [[Jay Macpherson]] and [[Northrop Frye]]. She graduated in 1961 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in English (honours) and minors in [[philosophy]] and [[French language|French]].<ref name=lumin/> |
− | In | + | In late 1961, after winning the [[E.J. Pratt]] Medal for her privately printed book of poems, ''Double Persephone'', she began graduate studies at Harvard's [[Radcliffe College]] with a [[Woodrow Wilson]] fellowship. She obtained a master's degree (MA) from Radcliffe in 1962 and pursued further graduate studies at [[Harvard University]] for 2 years, but never finished because she never completed a dissertation on “The English Metaphysical Romance” in 1967. She has taught at the [[University of British Columbia]] (1965), [[Sir George Williams University]] in [[Montreal]] (1967-68), the [[University of Alberta]] (1969-79), [[York University]] in Toronto (1971-72), and [[New York University]], where she was Berg Professor of English. |
− | In 1968, Atwood married Jim Polk, whom she divorced in 1973. She | + | In 1968, Atwood married Jim Polk, whom she divorced in 1973. She formed a relationship with fellow novelist [[Graeme Gibson]] soon after and moved to [[Alliston, Ontario]], north of Toronto. In 1976 their daughter, Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson, was born. Atwood returned to Toronto in 1980. She divides her time between Toronto and [[Pelee Island]], Ontario. {{Fact|date=October 2008}} |
− | Atwood and her | + | In March 2008 it was announced by Atwood, via television hookup between Toronto and Vancouver, that she had accepted her first chamber opera commission. 'Pauline' will be on the subject of [[Pauline Johnson]], a writer and Canadian artist long a subject of fascination to Atwood. It will star Judith Forst, with music by Christos Hatzis, and be produced by [[City Opera of Vancouver]]. 'Pauline' will be set at Vancouver, British Columbia, in March 1913, in the last week in the life of Johnson.{{Fact|date=October 2008}} |
− | == | + | ==Critical reception== |
− | + | ''[[The Economist]]'' called her a 'scintillating wordsmith' and an 'expert literary critic', but commented that her logic doesn't match her prose in ''[[Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth]]''.<ref>http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12414948</ref> | |
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− | + | ==Political involvement== | |
+ | Although Atwood's politics are commonly described as being [[left wing]], she has indicated in interviews that she considers herself a [[Red Tory]].<ref>[http://www.motherjones.com/arts/qa/1997/07/visions.html "Margaret Atwood: The activist author of Alias Grace and The Handmaid's Tale discusses the politics of art and the art of the con"], ''[[Mother Jones]]'', July/August 1997.</ref> Atwood and her partner [[Graeme Gibson]] are currently members of the [[Green Party of Canada]] and strong supporters of GPC leader [[Elizabeth May]], whom Atwood has referred to as fearless, honest, reliable and knowledgeable. In the [[Canadian federal election, 2008|2008 federal election]] she attended a rally for the [[Bloc Québécois]], a Quebec separatist party, because of her support for their position on the arts, and stated that she would vote for the party if she lived in Quebec.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/03/duceppe-to.html]</ref> In a ''Globe and Mail'' editorial, she urged Canadians to vote for any other party to stop a Conservative majority.<ref>Margaret, Atwood. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081006.WAtwood07_PTR/BNStory/politics Anything but a Harper majority]. ''Globe and Mail''. October. 6, 2008.</ref> | ||
− | + | Atwood has strong views on environmental issues,<ref>[http://www.canadianliving.com/life/community/interview_with_author_margaret_atwood.php Interview with author Margaret Atwood]</ref> such as suggesting that gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers be banned, and has made her own home more energy efficient – including not having [[air-conditioning]] - by installing [[awnings]] and skylights that open. She and her partner also use a [[hybrid car]] when they are in the city. | |
− | + | During the debate in 1987 over a free trade agreement between Canada and the United States, Atwood came out against the deal. Her opposition included an essay she wrote opposing the agreement.<ref>[http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:Ade9DPXEVw0J:www.eng.fju.edu.tw/worldlit/canada/handmaid.html+%22Margaret+Atwood%22+%22Free+trade%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=ca]</ref> | |
− | + | ==Works== | |
+ | {{col-begin}} | ||
+ | {{col-2}} | ||
+ | ===Novels=== | ||
+ | *''[[The Edible Woman]]'' (1969) | ||
+ | *''[[Surfacing (novel)|Surfacing]]'' (1972) | ||
+ | *''[[Lady Oracle]]'' (1976) | ||
+ | *''[[Life Before Man]]'' (1979, finalist for the [[1979 Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Award]]) | ||
+ | *''[[Bodily Harm (novel)|Bodily Harm]]'' (1981) | ||
+ | *''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'' (1985, winner of the 1987 [[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] and [[1985 Governor General's Awards|1985 Governor General's Award]], finalist for the 1986 [[Booker Prize]]) | ||
+ | *''[[Cat's Eye (novel)|Cat's Eye]]'' (1988, finalist for the [[1988 Governor General's Awards|1988 Governor General's Award]] and the 1989 [[Booker Prize]]) | ||
+ | *''[[The Robber Bride]]'' (1993, finalist for the [[1994 Governor General's Awards|1994 Governor General's Award]]) | ||
+ | *''[[Alias Grace]]'' (1996, winner of the 1996 [[Giller Prize]], finalist for the 1996 [[Booker Prize]] and the [[1996 Governor General's Awards|1996 Governor General's Award]]) | ||
+ | *''[[The Blind Assassin]]'' (2000, winner of the 2000 [[Booker Prize]] and finalist for the [[2000 Governor General's Awards|2000 Governor General's Award]]) | ||
+ | *''[[Oryx and Crake]]'' (2003, finalist for the 2003 [[Booker Prize]] and the [[2003 Governor General's Awards|2003 Governor General's Award]]_) | ||
+ | *''[[The Penelopiad]]'' (2005, longlisted for the 2007 [[IMPAC Award]]) | ||
− | + | Atwood is scheduled to publish a new novel in 2009. The book's title was initially reported in some media as ''God's Gardeners'', although Atwood later confirmed that this was not the intended title. | |
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− | + | ===Poetry collections=== | |
− | + | *''[[Double Persephone]]'' (1961) | |
− | + | *''[[The Circle Game (collection)|The Circle Game]]'' (1964, winner of the [[1966 Governor General's Awards|1966 Governor General's Award]]) | |
− | + | *''[[Expeditions, by Margaret Atwood|Expeditions]]'' (1965) | |
− | + | *''[[Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein]]'' (1966) | |
− | + | *''[[The Animals in That Country]]'' (1968) | |
− | + | *''[[The Journals of Susanna Moodie]]'' (1970) | |
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− | === Poetry collections === | ||
− | *''[[Double Persephone]]'' ( | ||
− | *''[[The Circle Game (collection)|The Circle Game]]'' ( | ||
− | *''[[Expeditions, by Margaret Atwood|Expeditions]]'' ( | ||
− | *''[[Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein]]'' ( | ||
− | *''[[The Animals in That Country]]'' ( | ||
− | *''[[The Journals of Susanna Moodie]]'' ( | ||
*''[[Procedures for Underground]]'' (1970) | *''[[Procedures for Underground]]'' (1970) | ||
− | *''[[Power Politics (collection)|Power Politics]]'' ( | + | *''[[Power Politics (collection)|Power Politics]]'' (1971) |
− | *''[[You Are Happy]]'' ( | + | *''[[You Are Happy]]'' (1974) |
− | *''[[Selected Poems (collection)|Selected Poems]]'' ( | + | *''[[Selected Poems (collection)|Selected Poems]]'' (1976) |
− | *''[[Two-Headed Poems]]'' ( | + | *''[[Two-Headed Poems]]'' (1978) |
− | *''[[True Stories (collection)|True Stories]]'' ( | + | *''[[True Stories (collection)|True Stories]]'' (1981) |
− | *''[[Love songs of a Terminator]]'' ( | + | *''[[Love songs of a Terminator]]'' (1983) |
− | *''[[Interlunar]]'' ( | + | *''[[Interlunar]]'' (1984) |
− | *''[[Morning in the Burned House]]'' ( | + | *''[[Morning in the Burned House]]'' (1996) |
− | + | *''[[Eating Fire: Selected Poems, 1965-1995]]'' (1998) | |
− | *''[[Eating Fire: Selected Poems, 1965-1995]]'' ( | + | *''[[The Door (Margaret Atwood poetry)|The Door]]'' (2007) |
− | *''[[The Door (Margaret Atwood poetry)|The Door]]'' ( | ||
− | === Short fiction collections === | + | {{col-2}} |
− | *''[[Dancing Girls (book)|Dancing Girls]]'' ( | + | ===Short fiction collections=== |
− | *''[[Murder in the Dark]]'' ( | + | *''[[Dancing Girls (book)|Dancing Girls]]'' (1977, winner of the [[St. Lawrence Award for Fiction]] and the award of The Periodical Distributors of Canada for Short Fiction) |
+ | *''[[Murder in the Dark]]'' (1983) | ||
*''[[Bluebeard's Egg]]'' (1983) | *''[[Bluebeard's Egg]]'' (1983) | ||
− | *''[[Through the One-Way Mirror]]'' ( | + | *''[[Through the One-Way Mirror]]'' (1986) |
− | *''[[Wilderness Tips (book)|Wilderness Tips]]'' ( | + | *''[[Wilderness Tips (book)|Wilderness Tips]]'' (1991, finalist for the [[1991 Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Award]]) |
− | *''[[Good Bones]]'' ( | + | *''[[Good Bones]]'' (1992) |
− | *''[[Good Bones and Simple Murders]]'' ([[ | + | *''[[Good Bones and Simple Murders]]'' (1994) |
− | *''[[The Tent | + | *''[[The Labrador Fiasco]]'' (1996) |
+ | *''[[The Tent (Margaret Atwood book)|The Tent]]'' (2006) | ||
*''[[Moral Disorder]]'' (2006) | *''[[Moral Disorder]]'' (2006) | ||
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− | === Anthologies edited === | + | ===Anthologies edited=== |
− | *''[[The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse]]'' ( | + | *''[[The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse]]'' (1982) |
− | *''[[The Canlit Foodbook | + | *''[[The Canlit Foodbook]]'' (1987) |
− | *''[[The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English]]'' ( | + | *''[[The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English]]'' (1988) |
− | *''[[The Best American Short Stories 1989]]'' ( | + | *''[[The Best American Short Stories 1989]]'' (1989) (with [[Shannon Ravenel]]) |
− | *''[[The New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English]]'' ( | + | *''[[The New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English]]'' (1995) |
− | === | + | ===Children's books=== |
+ | *''[[Up in the Tree]]'' (1978) | ||
+ | *''[[Anna's Pet]]'' (1980) with Joyce C. Barkhouse | ||
+ | *''[[For the Birds (book)|For the Birds]]'' (1990) (with [[Shelly Tanaka]]) | ||
+ | *''[[Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut]]'' (1995) | ||
+ | *''[[Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes]]'' (2003) | ||
+ | *''[[Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda]]'' (2006) | ||
− | + | ===Non-fiction=== | |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature]]'' (1972) |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Days of the Rebels 1815-1840]]'' (1977) |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Second Words: Selected Critical Prose]]'' (1982) |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature]]'' (1995) |
− | + | *''[[Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing]]'' (2002) | |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Moving Targets: Writing with Intent, 1982-2004]]'' (2004) |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose—1983-2005]]'' (2005) |
− | *''[[ | + | *''[[Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth]]'' (2008) |
− | *''[[ | ||
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− | + | ===Drawings=== | |
− | + | *''[[Kanadian Kultchur Komix]]'' featuring "Survivalwoman" in ''[[This Magazine]]'' under the pseudonym, Bart Gerrard 1975-1980 | |
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− | === Drawings === | ||
− | *''[[Kanadian Kultchur Komix]]'' featuring "Survivalwoman" in ''[[This Magazine]]'' under the pseudonym, Bart Gerrard 1975-1980 | ||
*Others appear on her website. | *Others appear on her website. | ||
− | + | {{col-end}} | |
− | + | Wheel-show (1978-1981) for ''Times Magazine'' | |
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==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
Line 163: | Line 134: | ||
*Rosenburg H. J. ''Margaret Atwood''. Boston: Twayne, 1984. | *Rosenburg H. J. ''Margaret Atwood''. Boston: Twayne, 1984. | ||
*Sullivan, Rosemary. ''The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out''. Toronto: HarperFlamingoCanada, 1998. ISBN 0-00-255423-2 | *Sullivan, Rosemary. ''The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out''. Toronto: HarperFlamingoCanada, 1998. ISBN 0-00-255423-2 | ||
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+ | == Awards == | ||
+ | *[http://www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/ing/01/noticia770.html 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Letters] | ||
+ | *[http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=53 Order of Canada Citation] | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
{{wikiquote}} | {{wikiquote}} | ||
*[http://www.owtoad.com/ Margaret Atwood's home page] | *[http://www.owtoad.com/ Margaret Atwood's home page] | ||
+ | *[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000390 Margaret Atwood's] entry in [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1 The Canadian Encyclopedia] | ||
*{{isfdb name|id=Margaret_Atwood|name=Margaret Atwood}} | *{{isfdb name|id=Margaret_Atwood|name=Margaret Atwood}} | ||
*{{contemporary writers|id=03C18N390512635243}} | *{{contemporary writers|id=03C18N390512635243}} | ||
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*[http://www.mscd.edu/~atwoodso/ The Margaret Atwood Society home page] | *[http://www.mscd.edu/~atwoodso/ The Margaret Atwood Society home page] | ||
*[http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/atwood/atwood.htm Luminarium Margaret Atwood] Research guides to novels and short stories | *[http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/atwood/atwood.htm Luminarium Margaret Atwood] Research guides to novels and short stories | ||
*[http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,943485,00.html Profile] from ''[[The Guardian]]'' | *[http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,943485,00.html Profile] from ''[[The Guardian]]'' | ||
+ | *[http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=252 Poems by Margaret Atwood at PoetryFoundation.org] | ||
+ | *[http://archives.cbc.ca/dossier.asp?page=1&IDDossier=1494&IDCat=276&IDCatPa=153/ CBC Digital Archives - Margaret Atwood: Queen of CanLit] | ||
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+ | ===Interviews=== | ||
+ | *[http://www.pbs.org/moyers/faithandreason/portraits_atwood.html Margaret Atwood with Bill Moyers on ''Faith and Reason''], PBS | ||
+ | * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/atwoodm1.shtml Audio Interview from BBC4] | ||
+ | *[http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/pepdesc.cfm?id=2479 Thomas Cahill in conversation with Margaret Atwood] at LIVE from the New York Public Library, December 1, 2006. | ||
*[http://www.salon.com/jan97/interview970120.html January 1997 Interview] with [[Salon.com]] | *[http://www.salon.com/jan97/interview970120.html January 1997 Interview] with [[Salon.com]] | ||
*[http://www.canadianliving.com/life/community/interview_with_author_margaret_atwood.php June 2006 Interview] with [[CanadianLiving.com]] | *[http://www.canadianliving.com/life/community/interview_with_author_margaret_atwood.php June 2006 Interview] with [[CanadianLiving.com]] | ||
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*[http://wiredforbooks.org/margaretatwood/ 1986 interview with Margaret Atwood] by [[Don Swaim]] at [[Wired for Books]] | *[http://wiredforbooks.org/margaretatwood/ 1986 interview with Margaret Atwood] by [[Don Swaim]] at [[Wired for Books]] | ||
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− | {{Scotiabank Giller Prize | + | {{Scotiabank Giller Prize winners}} |
{{Man Booker Prize Winners}} | {{Man Booker Prize Winners}} | ||
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] —> | <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] —> | ||
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{{Persondata | {{Persondata | ||
|NAME= Atwood, Margaret Eleanor | |NAME= Atwood, Margaret Eleanor | ||
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | ||
− | |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Canadian | + | |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Canadian |
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|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] | |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] | ||
|DATE OF DEATH= | |DATE OF DEATH= | ||
|PLACE OF DEATH= | |PLACE OF DEATH= | ||
}} | }} | ||
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Revision as of 04:46, 26 November 2008
Margaret Atwood | |
---|---|
220px Margaret Atwood at a demonstration in 1988 | |
Born | November 18 1939 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | (age 84)
Occupation | Novelist, Poet |
Nationality | Canadian |
Writing period | 1960s to present |
Genres | Romance, Historical fiction, Speculative fiction, Dystopian fiction |
Notable work(s) | The Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, Oryx and Crake, Surfacing |
Official website |
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, CC (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian writer. A prolific poet, novelist, literary critic, feminist and activist, she is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award seven times, winning twice. Atwood is among the most-honored authors of fiction in recent history.[1] While she is best known for her work as a novelist, her poetry is noteworthy.[2] Many of her poems have been inspired by myths, and fairy tales, which were an interest of hers from an early age.[citation needed] Atwood has also published short stories in Tamarack Review, Alphabet, Harper's, CBC Anthology, Ms., Saturday Night, Playboy, and many other magazines.
Life
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Atwood is the second of three children of Carl Edmund Atwood, an entomologist, and Margaret Dorothy Killiam, a former dietitian and nutritionist.[3] Due to her father’s ongoing research in forest entomology, Atwood spent much of her childhood in the backwoods of Northern Quebec and back and forth between Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto. She did not attend school full-time until she was 11 years old. She became a voracious reader of literature, Dell pocketbook mysteries, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Canadian animal stories, and comic books. She attended Leaside High School in Leaside, Toronto and graduated in 1957.[3]
Atwood began writing at age six and realized she wanted to write professionally when she was 16. In 1957, she began studying at Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Her professors included Jay Macpherson and Northrop Frye. She graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts in English (honours) and minors in philosophy and French.[3]
In late 1961, after winning the E.J. Pratt Medal for her privately printed book of poems, Double Persephone, she began graduate studies at Harvard's Radcliffe College with a Woodrow Wilson fellowship. She obtained a master's degree (MA) from Radcliffe in 1962 and pursued further graduate studies at Harvard University for 2 years, but never finished because she never completed a dissertation on “The English Metaphysical Romance” in 1967. She has taught at the University of British Columbia (1965), Sir George Williams University in Montreal (1967-68), the University of Alberta (1969-79), York University in Toronto (1971-72), and New York University, where she was Berg Professor of English.
In 1968, Atwood married Jim Polk, whom she divorced in 1973. She formed a relationship with fellow novelist Graeme Gibson soon after and moved to Alliston, Ontario, north of Toronto. In 1976 their daughter, Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson, was born. Atwood returned to Toronto in 1980. She divides her time between Toronto and Pelee Island, Ontario. [citation needed]
In March 2008 it was announced by Atwood, via television hookup between Toronto and Vancouver, that she had accepted her first chamber opera commission. 'Pauline' will be on the subject of Pauline Johnson, a writer and Canadian artist long a subject of fascination to Atwood. It will star Judith Forst, with music by Christos Hatzis, and be produced by City Opera of Vancouver. 'Pauline' will be set at Vancouver, British Columbia, in March 1913, in the last week in the life of Johnson.[citation needed]
Critical reception
The Economist called her a 'scintillating wordsmith' and an 'expert literary critic', but commented that her logic doesn't match her prose in Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.[4]
Political involvement
Although Atwood's politics are commonly described as being left wing, she has indicated in interviews that she considers herself a Red Tory.[5] Atwood and her partner Graeme Gibson are currently members of the Green Party of Canada and strong supporters of GPC leader Elizabeth May, whom Atwood has referred to as fearless, honest, reliable and knowledgeable. In the 2008 federal election she attended a rally for the Bloc Québécois, a Quebec separatist party, because of her support for their position on the arts, and stated that she would vote for the party if she lived in Quebec.[6] In a Globe and Mail editorial, she urged Canadians to vote for any other party to stop a Conservative majority.[7]
Atwood has strong views on environmental issues,[8] such as suggesting that gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers be banned, and has made her own home more energy efficient – including not having air-conditioning - by installing awnings and skylights that open. She and her partner also use a hybrid car when they are in the city.
During the debate in 1987 over a free trade agreement between Canada and the United States, Atwood came out against the deal. Her opposition included an essay she wrote opposing the agreement.[9]
Works
Novels
Atwood is scheduled to publish a new novel in 2009. The book's title was initially reported in some media as God's Gardeners, although Atwood later confirmed that this was not the intended title. Poetry collections
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Short fiction collections
Anthologies edited
Children's books
Non-fiction
Drawings
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Wheel-show (1978-1981) for Times Magazine
Notes
- ↑ Honor roll:Fiction authors. Award Annals (2007-11-17).
- ↑ Holcombe, Garan. (2005). "Margaret Atwood". Contemporary Writers. London: British Arts Council. Retrieved on 2008-10-22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/atwood/atwood.htm
- ↑ http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12414948
- ↑ "Margaret Atwood: The activist author of Alias Grace and The Handmaid's Tale discusses the politics of art and the art of the con", Mother Jones, July/August 1997.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Margaret, Atwood. Anything but a Harper majority. Globe and Mail. October. 6, 2008.
- ↑ Interview with author Margaret Atwood
- ↑ [2]
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Carrington de Papp, I. Margaret Atwood and Her Works. Toronto: EWC, 1985.
- Cooke, N. Margaret Atwood: A Biography. Toronto: ECW, 1998.
- Hengen, Shannon and Ashley Thomson. Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
- Howells, Coral Ann. Margaret Atwood. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996.
- Howells, Coral Ann. The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-521-54851-9
- Rigney, B. Margaret Atwood. Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble, 1987.
- Rosenburg H. J. Margaret Atwood. Boston: Twayne, 1984.
- Sullivan, Rosemary. The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out. Toronto: HarperFlamingoCanada, 1998. ISBN 0-00-255423-2
Awards
External links
- Margaret Atwood's home page
- Margaret Atwood's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Margaret Atwood at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Margaret Atwood at www.contemporarywriters.com
- The Margaret Atwood Society home page
- Luminarium Margaret Atwood Research guides to novels and short stories
- Profile from The Guardian
- Poems by Margaret Atwood at PoetryFoundation.org
- CBC Digital Archives - Margaret Atwood: Queen of CanLit
Interviews
- Margaret Atwood with Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason, PBS
- Audio Interview from BBC4
- Thomas Cahill in conversation with Margaret Atwood at LIVE from the New York Public Library, December 1, 2006.
- January 1997 Interview with Salon.com
- June 2006 Interview with CanadianLiving.com
- 1986 interview with Margaret Atwood by Don Swaim at Wired for Books
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Persondata | |
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NAME | Atwood, Margaret Eleanor |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | Canadian |
DATE OF BIRTH | |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
DATE OF DEATH | |
PLACE OF DEATH |
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